Metal-Rules.com Interview With
GIANLUCA MOLE of Glacial Fear

Hi guys, thanks for doing this interview! I guess
we'll start by having you guys tell me about the background of Glacial
Fear. How did the band get its start, and what has it been up to in the
past?

Glacial Fear was started in 1992 as a death metal band
with keyboards and weird vocals. Even in the beginning we had an open
minded attitude, which was evident from the first releases (Promotape
'93, and EP 7" "Secrets at the Steam Forest"). In 1995,
with a different drummer and a new keyboardist, we recorded the MCD
"Atlasphere: The Burning Circle", released by the Italian
Nosferatu Records. After a year the label split up, so we moved to
another Italian label, Nocturnal Music, to release our first full CD
"Frames", which came out in 1997! Reactions to
"Frames" were very good, so we decided to search for a bigger
and more professional label for our next album. In 1999 all we had was a
promo CD for press and labels, that circulated in the underground, and
we got the opportunity to sign a deal with Negatron Records for
"Fetish Parade", which came out in October of 2000. After
recording the album our bass player (he was also our singer for a few
years) Andrea left the band and his place was taken by our new guy, Tato.

Fetish Parade leans quite a bit into science
fiction for its subject matter. Can you elaborate on where you get your
lyrical influences?

Yeah, this CD is really immersed in that kind of stuff.
Andrea wrote our lyrics because science fiction was our trip for a long
time. We used science fiction to describe our little world of everyday
horrors. Of course, we got some ideas from TV series' like
"Space1999", and films like "DARK CITY" etc.

What is "Electronic N-Ice Eyes" about
exactly?

It's about a possible relationship via chat! Our
imagination plays an important part in our lyrics.

My favourite song on the CD is
"Antarctica" because although it is very heavy, it is also
quite atmospheric. Can you give some background on that particular song?

"Antarctica" was originally released on the
MCD from 1995. At that time the version had keyboards and different
production. We decided to re-arrange the song without keyboards and
focus more attention on the guitar arrangements. This version totally
kills! This song was written when there was the nuclear test in Muroroa
by French President Chirac.

Who is the principal songwriter for the band?

In the past I've written all the music and Andrea wrote
all the lyrics. In the future the lyrics will be written by our new
singer Nikola (he actually sang on "Fetish Parade"), and the
music will be by me and Enzo, our drummer.

How have responses been to the album so far?

Reactions have been very positive and we've received
some incredible reviews. We hope the album will be released outside of
Italy so all the cyber freaks around the globe can hear it!

If
you would, please talk about the cover art a bit, because it's quite
interesting. Who chose it?

Negatron Record's owner, Luka, created the cover art. He
created it while listening to the master of the album and sent it to me
later. We immediately chose to use it for our cover! It's as grey as our
music!

How does it feel to be part of a very focused
roster on Negatron Records? Because of the small number of bands, I
assume that the label is able to concentrate more on each individual
band.

It's true! This is a problem for all of the Italian
labels. Too many bands and bad promotion. With Negatron, we hope to
change that trend, and we're definitely happy to have people like that
behind us!

Have you heard any of your labelmates' music? How
do you feel Glacial Fear fits in amongst these bands?

Yeah, I've heard all of Negatron's bands: Iblis, Zona,
and Dammercide. They're all great and quite diverse! Open-minded
attitude rules!

How was the recording experience of "Fetish
Parade"?

Well, we've got a little familiarity with the studio
from our past albums. Anyway, this time we recorded in my own studio (Ultrasoundlab),
which is a 16 Digital Track Project studio, and the atmosphere was very
relaxed. We also got the Undertakers' (Italian brutal gods!) singer,
Enrico, who did some backing vocals for us!

Is there a particular studio or producer that you
would like to record in the future?

Yes, I'd like to work with Andy Sneap or Terry Date!

This is an email interview, how much of a role do
you think that the Internet is going to have in the future evolution of
heavy metal?

The Internet is the communication of today; everything
will be touched by it, including heavy metal.

Related to the last question, would you guys
consider yourselves pro or anti- music downloads?

I guess I'm pro music downloads, but with limitations.
This could be a really long question…

Are there any bands that you'd like Glacial Fear
to tour with? If you could choose, what would be your perfect tour
package?

Voivod, Treponem Pal, Spineshank, and us.

What can we expect from Glacial Fear in the
future?

An Italian tour in April/May, and new songs very soon.
We'll go in and record the new album after this summer, but first we
want to tour and play a lot of gigs!